Southern California -- this just in

Carol Meyer, key L.A. County health official, announces retirement

November 30, 2010 | 12:38
pm

Carol Meyer, a senior official who helped oversee L.A. County’s massive public hospital and clinic system, announced her retirement Tuesday.

Meyer, 58, chief of operations of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services for nearly three years, has been a key administrator during a period of turmoil for the agency, which has been challenged with severely overcrowded emergency rooms and budget shortfalls.

Meyer said her job in recent years had not been easy.

“It’s been very challenging,” Meyer said. “I am so proud of the work that our hospitals and our clinics do.”

County and state officials expressed relief earlier this month when the Obama administration approved a $10-billion plan to help California modernize and expand its Medicaid health insurance program for the poor, pushing the state to the forefront of the national effort to implement the new healthcare law.

On Tuesday, Meyer’s boss, interim director John Schunhoff, said how much of that $10 billion will make its way to L.A. County won’t be known for at least several more weeks, but the federal financial aid “has the potential to provide significant additional resources” to the county.

Meyer said she had intended to stay in her job until the Medicaid plan was completed.

She said she plans to stay in the Los Angeles area, and did not rule out pursuing other work opportunities or serving on commissions. She said she did want to sail on the sailboat she owns with her husband.

Meyer said ongoing challenges for the department include establishing medical primary care homes for patients, and preparing for healthcare reform. County officials have expressed concern that when more people have access to health insurance, patients will seek care at non-county hospitals once they are given choices. Currently, low-income people with no access to healthcare often come to county hospitals, which provide free or low-cost care to those who cannot afford to pay.

Photo: Carol Meyer, pictured at a 2007 Board of Supervisors meeting where they discussed the fate of Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital, which later closed to inpatient care. Credit: Al Seib/Los Angeles Times